Honor's Wedding (Hollybrook Amish Romance) Read online

  Honor’s Wedding

  Amish Romance

  Brenda Maxfield

  Copyright © 2019 by Tica House Publishing LLC

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Personal Word from the Author

  Dearest Readers,

  Thank you so much for choosing one of my books. I am proud to be a part of the team of writers at Tica House Publishing who work joyfully to bring you stories of hope, faith, courage, and love. Your kind words and loving readership are deeply appreciated.

  I would like to personally invite you to sign up for updates and to become part of our Exclusive Reader Club—it’s completely Free to join! We’d love to welcome you!

  Much love,

  Brenda Maxfield

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  Contents

  Personal Word from the Author

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Continue Reading…

  Thank you for Reading

  More Amish Romance for You

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

  Hebrews 12:1 KJV

  “It’s right pretty,” Sandra Kennel told her daughter.

  Honor looked up, her brown eyes dangerously close to tears. “Jah, Mamm. Right pretty.”

  She stared at her wedding dress, stared at the deep blue that made her cheeks appear rosy, that made her eyes shine even darker in her face. She gulped, trying her best to be excited. Trying her best to get into the spirit of the occasion.

  “I do declare that this shade of blue is even prettier than your cousin’s.” Sandra gave a tiny chuckle. “Not that a person should compare.”

  Of course, Honor’s mother was referring to Willa, Honor’s cousin and best friend. Willa was engaged to Collin, who was the adopted grandson of the Keims. A quick flash of envy swept through Honor. Not for Collin—although she had been smitten with him for a time. No, not for him. Envy curled through her because of Willa’s happiness. Willa was deeply in love with Collin and thrilled to be betrothed to him.

  While Honor…

  Honor gulped in a huge rush of air. While she… No. It didn’t bear thinking about. She had her reasons for becoming engaged to Gabe Chupp. They were good reasons, too. Valid reasons.

  Or so she told herself over and over and over…

  “Well?” Sandra asked, giving Honor a curious look.

  Honor blinked. “What? Sorry, Mamm. What did you say?”

  “Your dat and I are right happy for you, daughter. You’ve got yourself a gut man.”

  Honor nodded. “Jah,” she murmured. Her mother was right. Gabe Chupp was a good man. Kind and considerate and… And he had the largest mouth she’d ever seen. Not that he talked too much, he didn’t. It was his actual mouth. It stretched across his face like an open post hole.

  Honor sucked in her breath with shame. How could she think such awful things? He was nice-enough looking. He was. His blue eyes were warm. And his light brown hair had a pleasant wave to it. Willa said he was handsome.

  Ach, but his mouth. And sometimes he spoke with such volume… Why, she could probably hear him from the next district over if she tried.

  “Honor!” Her mother’s voice was sharp. “Your head’s in the clouds.”

  “Sorry,” Honor said quickly, trying to rein in her thoughts.

  Sandra chuckled. “No harm done. I remember when I was about to marry your father. Why, I couldn’t concentrate on anything but him. Ach, but your mammi used to scold me!”

  Honor swallowed past the tightening in her throat. She wanted to gather up her wedding dress and toss it out the window. She wanted to put on her shoes and run away to the nearest barn and hide. She did not want to marry Gabe Chupp. She wasn’t in love with him.

  And if he knew the truth of it, he wouldn’t want to marry her.

  Oh, she’d told him clear enough that her dad had lost his farm. That he’d been forced by necessity to sell his land to a real estate man. That they would be moving up north so her father could work at one of those Englisch factories.

  Making trailer parts. Why, her dad had never done anything but farm for his entire life.

  Honor had been desperate. She hadn’t wanted to leave Hollybrook. Hollybrook was her home. Her friends were there. Her family was there. Willa was there. No. She couldn’t bear the thought of moving away.

  So she’d hatched this plan of getting married right quick so that she could stay. So that her parents could move in with her and her new husband. So that life could continue on as it always had.

  But now… Now she was doubting herself. There was a huge knot of dread in her stomach that kept her awake at night. But what could she do? Things were moving along—and quickly. Gabe had spoken with the bishop and gotten special permission to hurry the ceremony up. Why, it wasn’t even wedding season.

  Her mother walked over to the window and looked out over their front lawn. She took a loud breath and turned to Honor.

  “You get to stay here,” she said. “We’ll miss you, daughter. We will. But we’re so happy to see you settled. And your dat will get a few vacation days every year. We can visit each other.”

  Now. Now, Honor thought. She needed to tell her mother now. Why hadn’t she already told her parents that they would be moving in with her and Gabe after the wedding—that they didn’t have to leave Hollybrook either? That she had a whole plan. But every time she was about to tell them, the words wouldn’t come out. Honor had no idea why they stuck in her throat. The days were moving on quickly. Too quickly.

  Honor’s family needed to be out of the house and off the farm by the end of the month. Her mother had been tearfully packing for days. The wedding ceremony would be one of the last things they did in this dear home of theirs before leaving.

  Honor opened her mouth. She would tell her mother now. This was good news. Wonderful news. Exciting news. Her parents would be thrilled.

  They wouldn’t have to move up north. They wouldn’t have to leave everything they knew. They wouldn’t have to settle in an unknown place. Her dad could help Gabe with the Chupp family farming. It was the perfect plan. The perfect solution.

  “Mamm?” Honor started.

  Sandra turned from the window and gazed at her. “Jah?”

  “Can I talk with you and Dat for a moment? I have some news.” Honor’s voice was trembling, and she saw hesitation and even alarm on her mother’s face.

  “What is it?” Sandra asked. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing bad,” Honor said quickly. “I just want to talk to you and Dat.”

  Sandra’s hand dropped from the linen curtains. “All right. Let’s go downstairs. I think your dat is in the front
room.”

  Honor led the way downstairs. She couldn’t understand herself. Why wasn’t she thrilled to be sharing her plan with her parents? Everything she’d done in the last weeks had been with this in mind. This should be a joyous occasion, one filled with excitement and satisfaction. Instead, all Honor felt was a knot of dismay sitting in her stomach.

  They entered the room to find Jerrod Kennel sitting in a rocker, staring out the window. He’d been doing a lot of that, of late. When he’d first taken to doing it a few weeks ago, it was so unusual that Honor wondered if he’d been taken ill. More than once, she’d peered at him when he wasn’t watching, trying to assess if he was well or not.

  “Ach, Sandra. Honor.” He gave a start, adjusting himself more upright in the chair.

  “Our daughter wants to speak with us,” Sandra said, her voice grave.

  Immediate concern covered his face. “Everything’s all right, ain’t it? Nothing going on about the wedding?” He looked at Honor, his blue eyes darkening with worry. “I hope nothing’s wrong between you and Gabe. Your mamm and I are right happy about this union. Fact is—”

  “Nee, Dat, it ain’t that,” Honor interrupted him. She sat down beside her mother on the davenport. “This is gut news.”

  She carefully arranged her expression with a warm smile.

  “Gut news, huh?” her father asked. “Well, that would be mighty welcome around here.”

  “I-I was talking with Gabe the other day…” Honor started. All right, so it was really more than a month before—but didn’t that still technically classify as the “other day?” She took a breath and continued, “And we’re not happy at all about you and Mamm having to move up north. So, well, we have the perfect solution.”

  Her mother’s brow raised, and Honor saw her grip the arm of the davenport.

  “I want… I mean, well, Gabe and I want you both to live with us in the daadi haus at the Chupp farm. There’s plenty of room, you know.” Her dad’s expression stiffened, and she hurried on. “You and mamm would have one of the rooms upstairs. Gabe and I won’t need it. And, of course, we’d share the kitchen and the bathroom. There’s plenty of room in their daadi haus, Dat. It’s big. One of the biggest I’ve ever seen.”

  Her mother’s eyes filled with tears. “You, you talked about this with Gabe?”

  “Of course, Mamm. I… We want you to stay. We both do. Gabe is all for it.” Why was her voice shaking? She was telling the truth.

  “Jerrod?” Sandra ventured. “Did you hear that? We wouldn’t have to leave…”

  Jerrod bolted out of his chair, displaying more energy than Honor had seen in him for weeks. “You talked to Gabe’s folks, too?” His words sliced through the room.

  Honor flinched. “Well, jah. Of course. We had to—”

  “So, we’re some kind of charity case now?” he cried. “Is that what we’ve become?”

  Honor felt slapped. She shrank back into the cushion. “Nee. Dat. It ain’t like that.”

  “Sounds like it to me!”

  “Nee. We want you to live with us. You could help with—”

  “With what, Honor? With their farming?”

  “Well, jah…”

  “They got four strapping lads over there,” he went on, his face turning red. “They don’t need no help from this old man.”

  “Jerrod!” Sandra cried. “Didn’t you hear her? We wouldn’t have to—”

  “Leave. I know. I heard.” His voice was acid. “We’re moving north.”

  Honor stopped breathing. What? What? No. No. No. This couldn’t be. She was marrying Gabe so they could all live together. Black spots danced around her vision. She grabbed her mother’s arm next to her.

  “But Dat!”

  He took a huge step until he was in front of the davenport. He bent low. “We ain’t living at the Chupps,” he spoke into their faces.

  “Jerrod,” Sandra tried again. “Calm down. Don’t you see—”

  “This is me calm,” he said, and his voice took on a hard, eerie edge. “We ain’t going. My new job is all but arranged. I start after the wedding.”

  Honor was going to pass out. Her chest had tightened. She wasn’t even sure her heart was beating. “Nee, Dat,” she squeaked.

  He stood to his full height, and his face was awful to behold. “Daughter, you heard me.”

  “Jerrod,” Sandra’s tone was pleading now. “Listen to her. We don’t have to move. We can stay here.”

  “We’re moving,” he said with caustic finality. “Thank you, Honor. But nee. I ain’t taking charity. This is all my fault. I caused this on my own, and I’m fixing it on my own. We’re moving. I’m working at the factory.” He looked at Sandra then, and his eyes turned moist. “We’ll be all right, Sandra. You’ll see.”

  Her mother sucked in her breath and then slowly and reluctantly, she nodded. She stood up and took her husband’s hand. “Of course,” she said, and her voice grew stronger now. “We’ll be all right. Of course, we will.”

  Honor gaped at them both and felt her life unravel. She folded her arms over her stomach and fought against the threatening tears. Her mother turned to her and leaned down. She touched Honor’s cheek.

  “Thank you, daughter. It was gut of you. And gut of Gabe. What a fine man you’re marrying. But your dat and I will be going north.” Sandra sniffed and blew out her breath. “We’ll be fine, just as your father says. And you will be, too.”

  She straightened and looked at Jerrod. “We’ll all be fine. Gott will see to it. It’s a new beginning for all of us.” She glanced back at Honor. “Soon, you’ll have wee ones and be so busy, you won’t even notice our absence.” Her eyes filled with quick tears that she brushed away with her free hand. “Now. How about I make us all a little snack?”

  And with that, she hurried off into the kitchen. Honor blinked up at her dad. Never in all of her planning had she foreseen this. Never, never, never had she considered that her dad wouldn’t agree to it. Tears choked her throat. What had she done?

  What had she done?

  She had pushed Gabe into a quick marriage for this? She’d given up her dream of falling madly in love for this? And now, it wasn’t even going to happen. Her parents would move away after all. Her cousin Willa had been right all along. Honor should have just moved in with her. She wouldn’t have had to get married at all.

  She pressed her hand over her mouth and pushed back a scream. What had she done?

  “Honor?” her father said, his face crumbling into worry again. “You all right?”

  She blinked at him.

  “I know you’re disappointed, child. I’m sorry. But you’ll be married soon. You’ll have Gabe to fill your days.” His voice hitched, but he continued. “And then, like your mamm says, you’ll have bopplis.” He coughed and wiped his mouth. “We’ll come see you as often as we can. You hear?”

  Honor nodded stupidly.

  In an uncharacteristic gesture, he reached down and patted her shoulder. “You’ll be fine, Honor. And busy, I know. You got that wedding to plan.” He looked around the room as if lost. “I’ll be going outside now. See to the animals.”

  The animals didn’t need seeing to in the middle of the day. Honor knew that full well. Her dad only needed an excuse to escape the room. To escape her. She watched him go, her stomach turning to lead.

  She was marrying Gabe Chupp, a man she did not love, so that her folks could live with them. So that none of them would have to leave Hollybrook. A bitter laugh forced its way up her throat. She shook her head and let out another choked laugh. And then she couldn’t stop it. The laughter rose in her and filled her eyes with tears. She heard herself. Heard the hysterical sounds emitting from her mouth. She bent over and buried her face into the davenport and tried to stifle her anguish.

  But it was no good.

  The pain tore through her heart and mind until she lay there limp and breathless. When she was spent, she slowly raised her head, wiping the tears from her face. Her gaze darted to the
front room door. Her mother stood there, a plate of cookies in her hand, and a look of frozen horror on her face.

  Chapter Two

  Gabe couldn’t stop smiling. One week. One more week and he’d be a married man. He ran his hand over his smooth chin. Before long, there’d be the stubble of a new beard. His smile widened. He wondered what he’d look like with a beard. He’d look married, that was what. He caught his reflection in the small barn window. There was the face of a happy man.

  He hadn’t been able to believe it when Honor Kennel had started talking to him all of a sudden. Honor Kennel—the prettiest girl in the district. He’s always figured he was completely outside her attention. She would never go for a plain guy like him. Oh, he supposed he was all-right looking. But he wasn’t really handsome—his mouth was too big for his face. Hadn’t his brothers tormented him about that often enough?

  And his personality wasn’t attention-grabbing. He was pleasant and all, but he’d always figured Honor was the type who went for the dashing guys in the center of everything. And that wasn’t him. So when she’d started flirting with him that evening at Youth Singing not so long ago, he couldn’t believe his luck. He was certain he’d died and gone straight to heaven. Ach, but she was pretty. And when those gleaming hazel eyes of hers met his, he was a goner.

  And what luck they’d started courting in time. Otherwise, she would be moving up north, and he would likely never see her again. Now, he was going to see her every day. Every morning, he’d wake up with her in his bed. His stomach tightened at the thought. He closed his eyes, imagining her on the pillow beside him. Imagining her long soft brown hair tussled across his sheets. He itched to touch it. He could only guess what it would feel like to run his fingers through its thick richness.